Chapter 3: Familiar Face

“Make sure not to make a single mistake, sweetheart. Am I clear enough?” Dad said with a gentle tone but the way he looked at me spoke warning.

When we finally arrived at the Alpha’s residence, Dad held the car’s door for me and lent me a hand. The ends of my long dress touched the ground when I stepped out. It was a black dress with shining stones all over it. My long brown hair was elegantly done in updo with some curled strands purposely left around the corners of my face.

We went inside the mansion with me holding Dad’s arm. I had always been trained to be a graceful flower for special occasions like this. Whenever Dad requested my presence in events, refusing wasn’t an option. So it wasn’t new to me.

However, this time I found it hard to stay calm. I was anxious. The way most of the guests greeted and looked at us, it was like they were expecting I’d be one of the selected ladies. That giving me a spot was a given because I was Henry Sullivan’s daughter.

And I hated it because I didn’t want a spot. I didn’t want to do anything with the new alpha in that aspect. My heart was still aching for Jacob. How could I possibly think of someone at this point who wasn’t even my mate?

“More power, more privileges,” Dad’s words rang in my ears which made me press my eyes for a moment.

Back when I was young, I thought he was right. I believed he was always right. After all, like they said parents knew the best. But now that I had grown up, I couldn’t understand why he seemed to be insatiable when it came to power. He seemed to always crave for more even when he already had the status and money.

I looked around and figured out the Alpha hadn’t made his appearance yet. I would be seeing him for the first time tonight but I would surely recognize if he was around in this hall full of people. It was easy to spot the most powerful person present as everyone would want to please him so he must be surrounded by a lot of people hungry for his attention.

“My, your dress looks pretty, Loraine.”

When Dad went to other elders leaving me to socialize on my own, Genevieve, daughter of one of the councilors, went to me with her minions who were also daughters of respected people.

“But black is quite a dull color. Don’t you think, Leslie?” Genevieve asked one of her friends.

Despite the friendly smile plastered in Genevieve’s face, the hostility in her eyes was evident. She was one of the ladies in the district who hated me for some reason. I just kept on ignoring her to avoid myself involved in petty fights which I didn’t find worthy of my time.

“You’re right, Genevieve. You must have a better taste in fashion than me. You shine bright in that gold dress,” I said and gave her a polite smile before excusing myself to get a drink.

As I walked towards the table of refreshments, a group of young men noticed me and offered greetings. I didn’t know each of their names but I recognized their faces as they were introduced to me before. The sons of the most respected families in our district. Their fathers were either elders, councilors, betas and other high ranked people.

Clayburrow was one of the biggest werewolf districts in the west. Each district had one alpha, ten betas with respected ranks, and a council consisting of twelve people to aid the alpha in decision making and dealing with political affairs. Then the deltas, the commanders of the soldiers who were assigned to secure the district’s safety. The rank was followed by the elites, the members of the high society who were either businessmen or relatives of the high ranked people working for the alpha.

And I knew that even though I wouldn’t be picked by the Alpha to be his wife, I would surely marry one of these young men at the party tonight. Dad wouldn’t allow me to fall in the arms of someone of low status.

Breaking ties with Jacob was painful but somehow it relieved me. Because in truth, even after two years of being together I still didn’t know how I’d fight for him. How could I win such a tough fight against my father? How could I possibly tell Dad without putting Jacob’s life in danger?

Henry Sullivan wasn’t a kind man. I knew him the best because he was the one who raised me. He had his own ways of dealing things and I feared for the powerless Jacob Wells if Dad decided to punish him for coveting his daughter whom he polished to be a diamond.

Taking a sip from my glass of juice, I noticed the people looked up the stairs. I lifted my gaze to whatever they were looking at.

It only took me a second to realize who was the man walking down the stairs gracefully. With the proud air he carried and the district’s crest in his suit, there was no doubt he was our ruler, the Alpha.

He wore a white suit with a black undershirt and a fur coat on his shoulders. His short hair appeared to be black but when the light from the chandelier hit a different angle of his face, I noticed it was coppery black.

As I stared at him longer, my eyes began to narrow. His face seemed to be familiar, like I had seen him before.

When realization hit me, the glass almost slipped from my hand. He was that man I bumped into the other day!

I was standing next to a table of refreshments near the stairs but before I could move from where I was, Alpha Calix had already reached the final step and dropped his gaze to me.

One corner of his lips rose, making my anxious heart skip a beat.